A 16-year-old girl from Elm City suffered fatal personal injuries in an automobile accident in Nash County on the evening of December 4.

According to North Carolina state troopers, Caroline Hathaway lost control of the 2000 Isuzu SVU she was driving on Sandy Cross Road, approximately five miles south of Nashville. The vehicle slid off the road to the left, hit a ditch, went airborne, and collided with a tree.

Troopers said Hathaway was not wearing her seat belt and was ejected from the vehicle, which landed on top of her.

Two passengers in her vehicle, 16-year-old Amber Hunter and 15-year-old Caroline Brown, sustained only minor injuries in the crash. Hunter, the front seat passenger, was wearing a seat belt. Brown, the back seat passenger, was not.

Troopers said that Hathaway was traveling at a rate of 55 mph, which is the posted speed limit, but that it was in excess of a safe speed for the wet, snowy conditions at the time of the crash.